Monthly Archives: May 2011

Huge news about the Django Unchained cast: Will Smith is being courted for the lead role of Django. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tarantino told Hollywood insiders that he wants Smith in his film, and that the script has been passed along to Smith’s team. No official offers have been made. The part being offered to Smith is that of a freed slave who teams up with a German bounty hunter (rumored to be Christoph Waltz) to fight a villainous plantation owner.

The article also included an insightful paragraph about Will Smith:

Smith and his reps have received the screenplay, which could be a hot potato due to the themes of racism and the liberal use of the N-word. It’s unclear whether Smith has read the script yet. The actor manages his image very carefully, but the part is heroic and could be iconic. And let’s not forget that Denzel Washington won his two Oscars playing characters who used the N-word.

I admit that I was a bit skeptical when I first heard Will Smith’s name being tossed around. He’s a great and entertaining actor, but I associate him more with family friendly, PG-13 blockbusters, and not your average dark Tarantino drama with foul language, sex, and bloody violence.

Also included in the article was a one sentence blurb that Samuel L. Jackson might a receive a “key part” in Django Unchained. How exciting! I’ve missed Samuel L. Jackson and all of his glory in the last few Tarantino films.

Rumors are flying that Christoph Waltz will be joining the cast of Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. The Django Unchained plot includes a German bounty hunter who helps a freed slave seek revenge against a vicious plantation owner. indieWIRE reports that Tarantino wrote this part with Waltz in mind. Waltz and Tarantino previously collaborated on Inglourious Basterds in which Waltz won an Academy Award for his supporting role.

Christoph Waltz, however, is currently denying involvement in the Django Unchained project. In a recent interview, Waltz told MTV News the following:

“No, we haven’t talked,” he continued, explaining that he had not discussed a new collaboration with Tarantino at the time. “Quentin is usually working in these spurts. He has to let it ferment for a long time, then he goes [to work] and then we find out.”

MTV News speculates that Waltz is trying to protect or cover up his involvement until the the project moves forward. Personally, I wouldn’t count Waltz out of Django Unchained just yet as it’s difficult to imagine anyone else who could play such a role in this film.

DjangoUnchained.org is an unofficial fan site about Quentin Tarantino's film Django Unchained. We launched four days after the film was first announced in May 2011, and spent the next 18 months reporting on the film's progress up until its premiere on Christmas Day 2012. This site now serves as an archive of Django Unchained's development.